Getting a lot of questions regarding my criticism of Daniel Craig's clothes. Common questions: "How can you dress if you're muscular?" "Should no one wear skinny suits?" "What about a more modern silhouette?" Let's talk about some of these points. 🧵
Craig often wears clothes that are too tight for his body. This causes the buttoning point to strain across his waist, the lapels to buckle away from the chest, and the coat's collar to lift off his neck.
His right sleeve is often two inches too short. I suspect this is because his bicep is too tight and he is right-handed. When he waves or shakes people's hands, his tight sleeve is prone to riding up on him, leaving him with too much shirt cuff. Happens often at press events.
A good sleeve should hang well, which is to say it should be relatively free from wrinkles. This comes from two things: 1) enough room for the arm inside and 2) sleeve should be pitched correctly for the arm (not too forward or back, relative to how the wearer naturally stands)
It's very much possible to get clothes made for a muscular build that's both flattering and comfortable. These garments don't pucker or pull. (Lebron's trousers bunch at the bottom bc they were tailored for dress shoes and he's wearing sneakers here, but it's otherwise good.)
These clothes will be more comfortable and allow movement. When you feel more comfortable, you will be more stylish. You will also look more at ease, so the clothes will look natural on you. You will be able to hug people without feeling like the center back seam is going to rip.
It's not that skinny suits can't be worn. It's that the cut has to work for your body. Notice Dior and Saint Laurent ads always feature a very slim model. Clothes hang right. By contrast, Craig looks like he had to squeeze into his suit. The effect is more "sausage casing."
Hedi Slimane, who helped kick off the trend for skin tight suits in the late 1990s/ early 2000s, was once the Creative Director of Saint Laurent Paris. And Yves Saint Laurent himself wore very slim suits on occasion. His body was built for it.
As for how you can modernize the suit, there are lots of ways: material, color, silhouette, or styling. Impossible to cover everything here, but the principles for good tailoring still apply to pics below: collar hugs neck, clean lines, no pulling, etc.
Will leave you with one more example. Both men are about the same height and have muscular builds. Craig emphasizes his build by slimming the suit until it looks like he bought the wrong size. The second still has a flattering build (V-shaped silhouette), but has clean lines
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I politely disagree. The modern standard for business attire is not black or navy suits with ties. It's worse; it's business casual. This gives you none of the flattering effects of tailoring or the creativity possible in genuine casualwear. 🧵
This change happened in the postwar period. After the Second World War, American civil conflict could be read off people's backs. The establishment was represented by Gregory Peck in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit; the antiestablishment was Marlon Brando in The Wild One.
Against the backdrop of the Civil Rights movement, feminist movement, and anti-war protests, many people no longer wanted to be associated with the suit. This is especially true after Watergate. Even though libs wore it, the suit increasingly became coded as "conservative."
Had this saved in my bookmarks because I wanted to answer it. Funny enough, I think Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is one of the better dressed US politicians, but only in a very specific way that will appeal to a very small group of people. 🧵
First, let's look at some photos of Senator Whitehouse. Do you think he's well-dressed? What do you think of his style? Please make your judgements before reading on, as I don't want my commentary to color your views.
Personally, I think he dresses well. I like his use of gabardine and tweed in addition to typical dark worsteds. I like that he wears colors such as olive, rather than only navy and grey. He has good taste in ties and layers with Shetland knits. His clothes have good proportions.
The first sensible way is to go to a store that sells fragrances. Spritz some on some test strips and sniff. Of the ones you like, choose two so spray on the inside of your wrist. Walk out and go about your day and see how the fragrance changes over time.
I personally don't buy the idea that fragrances interact with your "skin chemistry." IMO, this is a marketing gimmick masquerading as pseudo-science that sales associates use to make you feel unique and special. But it is true that a scent changes over time.
The Harris Tweed Act of 1993 doesn't stop other people from producing tweed. It only regulates who gets to use the Harris Tweed Orb logo, which is a trademarked symbol. Let me give you some examples. 🧵
Below is Donegal tweed, which is called so because it's produced in the Donegal county of Ireland. Donegal tweed is most known for its signature flecks, which are created by spinning yarn with bits of felted wool, which glob onto the yarn like gum on a piano string.
My favorite Donegal tweed producer is Molloy & Sons, a father-and-son team that produces for some of the best English, American, and Japanese brands, as well as bespoke tailors around the world. I love the fabric for its story as much as its physical qualities.
Harris Tweed is the only fabric that's legally protected. Just as Bordeaux wine has to be from the Bordeaux region of France, any fabric bearing this stamp has to be woven in the Outer Hebrides, finished in the Outer Hebrides, and made from wool dyed & spun in the Outer Hebrides.
The Outer Hebrides is Scotland's Wild West. In his 1973 book, WH Murray wrote that the region's most important climatic feature are the gale force winds. If you ask an islander for tomorrow's forecast, he won't say dry, wet, or sunny, but quote a figure from the Beaufort Scale.
As men's tailoring has slowly died, many people, including Will, see things in overly broad strokes. He thinks that these outfits are the same when they couldn't be more different. He also alludes to this idea of "noblesse oblige," which refers to a specific social class.
To understand the difference, we have to go back to the founding of Brooks Brothers in 1818. Brooks was the most important American men's clothier, as they invented the ready-made suit and introduced American men to things such as sack suits, Shetland tweeds, polo coats, etc.